RED'S PLANET

A preteen girl frustrated with her life in the foster-care system finds herself redefining family when she unexpectedly crash-lands on an alien planet.

Living in a foster home, with a family named the Fosters, a ginger-haired white girl—whose   actual name is never revealed; she’s known only as Red—finds trouble daily. Red, a natural-born adventure seeker, often skips school and defies the rules of her home. On one of her truant jaunts, she's picked up by a local policeman. When he has to answer an emergency radio call for a chase in progress, Red's whisked along for the ride. However, this particular pursuit leaves Red marooned in an antique police car on a strange planet in a faraway galaxy, ultimately stuck with a group of aliens on a planet unfamiliar to them all. This motley band of beings must stay together on the unfamiliar terrain; could this group end up becoming the family Red's always sought? Red, a precocious 10-year-old brimming with a likable mix of sass and joie de vivre, is portrayed in exceptionally clear and brightly wrought panels, with a sweeping cinematic lens that lends equal attention to action and expression. This is a must-read for fans of Ben Hatke’s Zita the Spacegirl series or Judd Winick’s Hilo series.

A first volume that’s truly lively and entertaining; expect a vociferous cry for the next installment.